The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board today awarded a contract to the Italian firm AnsaldoBreda for 100 additional light-rail cars, clearing the way for a new rail manufacturing plant that the company has promised to build in downtown Los Angeles.
The decision was a victory for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has made green jobs a centerpiece of his agenda. He said the rail plant would serve as the southern anchor of his proposed clean technology corridor east of downtown.
Board members approved the $300-million deal on an 8-3 vote — with two members absent — after impassioned speeches by union workers who said many of their colleagues were out of work and losing their homes.
Art Leahy, the MTA's chief executive, had recommended against approval of the controversial deal. But at the last moment, AnsaldoBreda circulated an e-mail that provided additional financial guarantees from the firm's parent company, Finmeccanica.
—Maeve Reston at L.A. City Hall
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